


where the lightning strikes

by LiveLaughLovex



Series: first to fight [8]
Category: The Code (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Developing Relationship, F/M, Minor Maya Dobbins/Original Male Character(s), Minor Trey Ferry/Nona Ferry, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-09-22
Packaged: 2020-10-25 21:50:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20731316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiveLaughLovex/pseuds/LiveLaughLovex
Summary: When Harper's plane arrives back from California the morning after Christmas, she has no idea how different things will be by the time the sun sets in the evening. She can't bring herself to be irritated by the unknown this time around, though. Not when it's so good for her.





	where the lightning strikes

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from the song "Once in a Lifetime" by Landon Austin "I'm standing where the lightning strikes; I know this doesn't happen twice; you must be my once in a lifetime."

Harper shook her head amusedly as she made her way across the room. “I cannot believe you. I cannot _believe_ you actually showed up at the airport at six o’clock in the morning on your day _off _just to pick me up.”

“I told you I’d be here.” Abe extended one of the disposable mugs he held in her direction. “And before you ask – yes, they used soymilk. I checked three times before I left the place.”

“Thank you,” she sighed gratefully, accepting the beverage and taking a sip. “There was coffee on the flight, but it was terrible. I mean, truly foul. I think the attendants were a little ashamed to even refer to it as such.”

“Well, _that_ is not terrible,” he assured her. “I stopped by Cathy’s on my way in. There are also a few of those chocolate croissants you’re obsessed with waiting in the car.”

“You are my hero,” she told him seriously. “And possibly a saint. Thank you.” She took another swallow of the beverage, then nodded to the exit. “You want to get going?”

“Don’t you need to get the rest of your things?”

She lifted the shoulder her carryon was thrown over. “I was only there for two days. This is all I took with me.”

“Okay, then. You really weren’t kidding when you said you hated packing, were you?”

“I hate _overpacking_,” she corrected. “I don’t see the need to bring along ten pairs of shoes when I’ll only wear two at most, and I don’t care if my mother would disagree with me. I have been on quite a few vacations with the woman, and I’m pretty sure there are a few bellhops out there who have severe back problems thanks to her.”

“I can see how that might be a bad thing,” Abe conceded, finishing off the last of his coffee and tossing it into a nearby recycling bin as they made their way past. “Are you sure you’re going to feel up to going out this afternoon? If you need to catch up on some sleep, try to take the edge off your jetlag…”

“It’s a three-hour time difference, Abe,” she pointed out humorously. “I think I’ll be okay.” 

“Okay. Well, you were going to come hang out for a while this morning anyway, weren’t you? I grant you full control of my couch.”

“That works for me. Your couch is very conducive to napping,” Harper informed him, finishing off the last bit of coffee in her cup as they neared the exit. “You really didn’t have to come and get me, you know,” she told him once more. “I got in at six, which means you’ve been up since at least four-thirty. Who does that on their day off?”

“Me,” Abe replied. “As well as anyone doesn’t want their friend to be brutally murdered in the back of their Uber. Have you seen the news lately? That’s becoming an actual issue in some places,” he informed her as they made their way outside. Unlike California, Virginia had most definitely gotten the memo it was winter. The cold nipped at her through her several layers the second they stepped outside.

“I haven’t seen anything about that _specifically_, no, but I can’t say it surprises me,” Harper replied wryly. “Thank you for coming and getting me,” she added softly. “I’m really glad not to have to take the chance of being brutally murdered the day after Christmas, believe me.”

“Personally, I think you should never take the chance of being brutally murdered at all, but sure, there’d be something especially tragic about it happening so soon after all the jolliness.”

“It would be a really bad day to go out on. Might ruin everyone’s Christmas season buzz,” she agreed. “Seriously, though, how much sleep did you get? When did you get in from Richmond?”

“Eleven or so. Mom had an early morning, too. She’s driving out to Virginia Beach to see Max.”

“Yeah? Have you finally gotten used to the idea that your mother has a gentleman caller?” 

“Please don’t call him that,” Abe requested pleadingly.

“That’s what he is,” she pointed out amusedly.

“I am aware, but it’s not something I’m extremely eager to accept.”

“Okay, so that’s a no to my previous question,” Harper said under her breath, shaking her head at the look on his face. “She’s a grown woman, Abe.”

“I am aware of that, too. That doesn’t make this any less disturbing for me.” He punched the Unlock button on his car key as they drew nearer to the vehicle. “I haven’t ever seen her with anyone other than my dad. It’s just strange, that’s all.”

“Well, I think it’s supposed to be strange. Thank you,” she said when he opened the passenger-side door for her. “It’s fine for it to be strange. But you might want to work on not grimacing every time somebody brings it up. Or awkwardly leaving the room in the middle of breakfast. That might cause some issues, too.”

“I got called in for a case,” he insisted, not for the first time, as he slid behind the wheel. He turned the key in the ignition, put the vehicle in Park, and backed out of the parking spot before continuing. “It had nothing to do with what Mom was saying.”

“Okay,” she replied agreeably, smiling as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road. “Whatever you say, Abe.”

“I did. But it’s not like anybody would be completely okay with it. I mean, would you?”

“With my mom dating? I don’t know, seems like something I’d probably tell my dad about, and then we’d have a whole other issue, so I wouldn’t even be worrying about the whole _Mom dating_ thing anymore.” She returned his unimpressed look with a smile. “Abe, let me tell you something I have learned after many years of sitting at my parents’ dinner table. Sometimes, it really is best to lie. She’s happy. He makes her happy. Focus on that. And, you know, if she ever asks you if it weirds you out, just… tell a fib or two.”

“Why is it that you’re always _such_ a good person?” he questioned exasperatedly. “It really makes the rest of us look bad, you know.”

“You did hear the part of that speech where I openly endorsed flat-out lying, right?”

“That might apply to me, but it doesn’t apply to you,” Abe informed her. “You can’t lie to save your life.”

“I could _absolutely _lie to save my life. I’m pretty sure it’s one of the things they cover in basic training.”

“Okay, then you can’t lie to people who know you,” he conceded. “I’ve seen you try. You’re just incapable.”

“There’s no way you could know that for a fact,” Harper retorted.

“Yeah? Why is that?”

“Because, as far as I know, I’ve never actually tried to lie to you,” she told him. “So, really, I could be a fantastic liar, and you wouldn’t have any idea.”

“I wouldn’t want you to be a fantastic liar,” Abe replied honestly. “If you were, you wouldn’t be you.”

“Oh, Captain Abraham, are you finally admitting you like having me around?”

He shook his head in response to the teasing question, laughing under his breath. “I’ve told you that before,” he reminded her.

“Not outright, you haven’t.”

“Okay, well – I like having you around, Harper,” he told her, his gaze lingering on her before returning to the road.

Harper stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. “Well,” she finally managed, “that’s good to hear. I like having you around, too.”

It was all she said for a while, and while the silence between them was comfortable – it always was – she couldn’t help but overthink as they drove to his apartment. It really was the thing she was best at in times like these.

Here was the thing about her relationship with Abe: it was simple. It was easy. It was something she could always depend on. He’d been the one to stay by her bedside after her accident, the one to sit up with her on the nights she found herself unable to sleep in the aftermath, sharing snacks and watching Netflix and not complaining about any of it even once. He understood her in a way most people didn’t. It was comforting to simply be in his presence. And that, well, it complicated a lot of things.

It complicated things because she _knew_ what it meant, always wanting someone around and being comforted on even the worst of days by their very presence. She wasn’t totally clueless, despite what Maya would likely say. And, most importantly, it complicated things because she knew Abe felt the same about her, because being cared for so deeply, adored so openly – it was as terrifying as it was exhilarating, and she was never quite sure which emotion would overcome the other.

“Hey, you,” Abe questioned lightly, drawing her attention back to him. “You okay over there? You kind of spaced out there for a minute.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she assured him, hoping he hadn’t been totally right about what he’d said earlier. It really would be nice to be able to get this one lie past him. She didn’t exactly want to try to explain to him something she’d only just accepted for herself. Not yet, at least. “I just – I remembered Maya asked me to drop by before we all go to lunch. You know, slipped my mind.”

That was another half-truth; Maya hadn’t asked her to drop by, but Harper definitely needed to.

Thankfully, Abe didn’t seem to detect any hint of dishonesty in her tone. “Okay. I can drop you off,” he offered. “Not like Maya’s is exactly out of the way. Have we ever questioned how she managed to find an apartment in the exact center of town? Do you think bribery might’ve been involved?” Noting her incredulous look, he simply shrugged. “It was just a question.”

“A friend of a friend owns the building,” Harper informed him, shaking her head in amused disbelief. “And I really need to keep you away from the conspiracy documentaries.”

“Hey, you’re the one who reminded me of the fact I have Netflix.”

“Yes,” she conceded. “And it is a decision I often regret hourly.”

“Hey, you want to ride up there with Maya?” he threatened lightheartedly.

“If I rode up there with Maya, then who’d tell you where to turn in before you pass the entrance six times in a row?”

“You make a very good point,” Abe conceded. “We make a good team, Captain Li.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “That we do, Captain Abraham. That we do.”

-o-

“So,” Maya stated thirty minutes later, tilting her head to the side as she considered her friend. “You’re in love with Abe.”

“I’m not sure it’s – I don’t know that it’s love,” Harper protested weakly, continuing to pace the length of the other woman’s living room as she spoke.

“_Yet_,” Maya finished knowingly. “You don’t know that it’s love _yet_.”

“Maybe,” Harper admitted. “Maybe it’s that I don’t know yet.” She rolled her eyes in response to her friend’s slight smirk. “You don’t have to look so smug.”

“I’m sorry,” the captain apologized halfheartedly. “I’m just not used to realizing things so much earlier than you, that’s all. Can you possibly let me have my moment?”

“There is no way you’ve known for long,” Harper denied immediately. “I’m not that obvious.”

“I wasn’t actually talking about you. I was talking about him. He’s got it bad for you.” Maya let out an incredulous scoff when Harper turned to stare at her confusedly. “Oh, come on. Sure, you aren’t obvious, but he is. There’s no way you haven’t noticed.”

“I’ve noticed,” Harper acknowledged. “I just didn’t think anybody else had, that’s all.”

“Harper, _everybody’s_ noticed,” Maya informed her bluntly. “You pretending he doesn’t look at you the way he looks at you doesn’t change that.”

“Maybe,” Harper conceded. “But how did you know before I did?”

“Li, he called _florists_ for you. And that was back when you were getting ready to marry someone else. After you ended things with Bard and he ended them with Alex – well, it was only a matter of time, wasn’t it?”

“That was months ago,” Harper reminded her.

“Yes,” Maya nodded. “It was.”

“Well, there’s just no way…”

“Hey, I’m the one who had to hear about it,” Maya interrupted. “Or witness it, at the very least. Believe me, there’s a way. There’s a definite way.”

“You are not helping,” Harper muttered under her breath.

Maya shrugged unapologetically. “Hey, if you stop trying to talk yourself out of a good thing, I will instantly become more helpful. I swear it.”

Harper shook her head, then drew in a deep breath. “See, you’re saying all these things, but… do you honestly believe it’s not the stupidest idea I’ve ever had?”

“You’re of the same rank now. You work together. Neither one of you is likely to get shipped off to a warzone for an extended length of time anytime soon,” Maya listed off. “And, most importantly, everything you feel for him – he feels it for you, too. There’s really not a thing about it that’s stupid at all. What’s stupid is that you’re considering making me watch Abe pine for even _longer_. That’s banned by the Bill of Rights. Cruel and unusual punishment. For what, I have no earthly idea, but it still qualifies.”

“Were you scared?” Harper questioned hesitantly. “When you realized how you felt about Rhys?”

“I haven’t known Rhys anywhere near as long as you’ve known Abe,” Maya pointed out. “It’s a lot different for me and him.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. It just is. There are times where we have to put real effort into understanding each other. You and Abe haven’t had to do that in a very long time. You just get each other. That is a lot rarer than most people assume it is.”

“But you like him, right? I mean, you care about him?”

“Harper, we’re two months in and I have a real issue remembering what my life was like before he came into it. It’d be kind of pointless to pretend otherwise, wouldn’t it?” Maya sighed when her friend remained hesitant. “Look, only you can decide what’s best for you. But not everybody gets what you have. You should – you should just remind yourself of that before you completely turn your back on it. That’s all.”

“Yeah,” Harper murmured. “I will.”

“Good,” Maya replied seriously. “Remember, Harper, you’re a Marine.”

“What’s that have to do with anything?” Harper asked, confused by the sudden change of subject.

“You shouldn’t be running from what matters to you. You should be running towards it.” Maya smiled knowingly. “That’s the best way to survive the bad. The only way, sometimes.”

“And you think whatever I might start up with Abe – you think that’s worth running towards?”

“Don’t you?” Maya returned. 

“Yes,” Harper admitted, both to the woman before her and to herself. “I think I do.”

-o-

Abe glanced away from his plate of pizza when yet another screaming child made his way past their table, arching an eyebrow when the kid’s mother just laid her head on the table, seemingly defeated by her son’s antics at one o’clock in the afternoon. “Did the last one belong to her, too? Or am I imagining things?”

“The last _two_ belonged to her,” Harper corrected, lifting another slice of pizza from the serving plate in front of her. “That poor woman. I would’ve pulled my hair out by now.”

“Bringing six kids that young into a public place on a busy afternoon? She’s braver than most Marines I know, that’s for sure.” Abe finished off the last of his tea. “Is everything okay with Maya?” he asked after a moment.

“Huh?” Harper replied distractedly. “What do you mean?”

“Whatever she needed you for before we came here,” Abe supplied. “Is everything all right?”

“Oh, right. Yeah,” she promised. “Everything’s great.”

“Good,” Abe nodded. “Glad to hear it.”

“Okay, I think we’re about to have to limit Maddie’s stuffed animal gathering for today,” Maya announced, reclaiming the seat she’d vacated half an hour earlier. “I’m not entirely sure the three of us are going to be able to fit in the car with our new passengers, at this point.”

“Why are you carrying around a stuffed rabbit?” Abe questioned curiously.

“Well, this is Chester the Bunny,” Maya explained. “And I am apparently his bodyguard. Or his guardian. I wasn’t really clear on my official title. Anyway, he’s apparently the stuffed animals’ leader, so special care must be taken with his safety. He’s in my custody until Maddie gets back from the arcade.”

“He’s their leader?” Harper repeated amusedly.

“Well, at the moment. Don’t worry, though, There’s a stuffed hippo named Sally who’s giving him a run for his money next election cycle.”

“As she should,” Harper replied with faux seriousness.

“I can’t decide if you’ve gotten more or less strange since you started spending time with a four-year-old,” Abe informed her honestly.

“The general consensus is that I’ve done both,” Maya supplied. “And by general consensus, I of course mean that that’s what my brother said the last time I talked to him.”

“Of course,” Abe smirked.

“Miss Maya!” Maddie called excitedly, drawing the adults’ attention as she ran back to their table. “Daddy won another bear!”

“He did?” Maya returned just as enthusiastically.

Maddie nodded eagerly. “C’mon, come see him,” she insisted, pulling her father’s girlfriend back in the direction of the arcade by her hand.

Harper smiled warmly as she watched the two go. “It’s nice to see her so happy.”

“Yeah,” Abe agreed quietly. “It is.”

Harper glanced up as two other members of their group returned to the table. “How’s the arcade treating you?” she questioned with a smirk. “You ready to manage two kids in one in about five or so years?”

“I have a headache just thinking of it,” Nona replied honestly, suppressing a shudder at the very idea. “We just stopped by the table to say goodbye. My sister’s still in town, and we’ve somehow been roped into a family game night.”

“Oh, well, have fun.” Harper hugged the other woman. “And remember – Monopoly’s torn apart more families than politics has,” she added seriously.

“I will remember that,” Nona promised, an amused lilt to her voice. “You guys have a good time, too,” she insisted, hugging Abe quickly and stepping away to fix them both with a serious gaze.

“We will,” Abe promised laughingly.

“See you at work Monday,” Trey added as he and his wife headed for the exit.

Once they’d walked through the door, Abe turned to Harper. “She’s the only person I know who could make that sound like a threat.”

“I would have to agree with you there. I feel like I need to have more fun now,” Harper replied.

“It’s too bad Rami and Nazil weren’t able to make it. The baby has taken to playing air hockey, and it’s apparently the cutest thing to ever happen.”

“I’m pretty sure Nadia would object wholeheartedly to be called a baby.”

“I’ve known her since she was two. It’s how Rami referred to her sometimes,” Abe defended himself. “It’s not something I’ve been able to break myself of. I’ll stop by the time she’s in high school, I’m sure.”

“I’m sure she’d appreciate that,” Harper laughed. “You know, it was mentioned to me that Maya and her brood are getting ice cream after they leave here. I want sorbet now.”

“You’re so strange,” Abe informed her fondly. “You want to go to an ice cream shop and order the healthiest thing they have on the menu?”

“Absolutely,” Harper nodded.

Abe sighed amusedly. “Then that’s what we’ll do,” he agreed, shaking his head. “I reserve the right to mock you, though.”

“Right reserved,” she assured him.

-o-

They spent another forty-five minutes at the pizza parlor, watching with amusement as the stack of stuffed animals on Maya’s chair slowly grew taller and taller, before they finally left.

“So,” Abe began, holding the door open for her and then following her out into the brisk evening air. “Why’d you actually need to go over to Maya’s?”

“What do you mean?” she replied nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

He smiled gently. “I told you earlier, you’re a terrible liar. I realized something was off in the car, I just figured it might be something you weren’t ready to discuss with me. If I can help, though, I just… I’m here.”

“We were talking about you,” she blurted before she could talk herself out of it.

“Okay,” Abe replied slowly, coming to a stop next to the parked car and giving her his undivided attention. “What about me?”

“I just realized some things while I was away, that’s all.” She sighed. “Or, rather, I accepted some things I realized a long time ago.”

“That’s not any clearer, Harp,” he informed her.

“I know. It’s just – I get in an accident, you’re the one who sits at my bedside until I’m better. I break my leg, and it’s your guest room I spend six weeks in. I’m sad, or I’m angry, or I’m just in need of somebody to talk to, and I dial your number. It’s not even something I think about at this point; it’s pure instinct. On my worst days, you’re the one I want around.”

“I want you around on my worst days, too,” he replied, still appearing just as confused as he had before.

“But it’s not just then I want you around. I always want you around,” she tried to explain. “I – I want _you_. Always, all the time. And that terrifies me.”

“The things that matter typically do.”

“I know. That’s why I’m telling you this.” Harper drew in a deep breath. “And maybe it’s just going to result in a big mess, but…”

“Maybe it won’t,” Abe finished.

“I _hope_ it won’t,” Harper corrected nervously. “And that hope, it’s enough to make me tell you what I’m telling you right now.”

“Okay,” Abe murmured. “Okay.”

“Maybe something more than an okay would be helpful here,” Harper said softly, her voice shaking slightly as she spoke.

“I always want you around too, Harper,” he told her seriously.

“Good,” she replied softly. “That’s – that’s good. Um, do you want to… dinner?” Okay, she was usually much more eloquent than that, but who could really blame her for being so short-winded when he was looking at her like _that_?

“Or,” Abe proposed, “we could go get ice cream now.”

“Yeah,” Harper agreed, smiling with relief. “We could go get ice cream.”

“Let’s do that, then. Oh, Harper,” he added quickly, gently grabbing her arm when she turned to open the car’s door. “Just one last thing.”

The second his lips touched hers, every doubt she’d had before left her mind. In that instant, she knew with everything in her that this was a beginning. She also knew she didn’t need to prepare herself for an end. One wasn’t anywhere in sight.


End file.
